Psychological trauma reconsidered: Overview and proposed psychotherapy for survivors

Abstract

This paper attempts to establish a conceptual approach to the etiology of psychological trauma. The literature on the subject of the impact of trauma–particularly on the coherent sense of self and effective ego functioning–is reviewed. The case of a young victim of trauma is included to exemplify hew the disruption of social relationships and their internal cognitive representations, through abuse, exploitation, and other acts of unpredictable trauma, can interfere with the normal functioning of personality in the posttraumatic state until an appropriate therapeutic intervention or experience occurs. A construct for the psychotherapy treatment of trauma is suggested.     

Improvements in Unmarried African American Parents' Rapport,Communication, and Problem‐Solving Following a Prenatal Coparenting Intervention

This report examines effects of a coparenting intervention designed for and delivered to expectant unmarried African American mothers and fathers on observed interaction dynamics known to predict relationship adjustment. Twenty families took part in the six‐session “Figuring It Out for the Child” (FIOC) dyadic intervention offered in a faith‐based human services agency during the third trimester of the mother's pregnancy, and completed a postpartum booster session 1 month after the baby's arrival. Parent referrals for the FIOC program were received from a county Health Department and from OBGYNs and Pregnancy Centers in the targeted community. All intervention sessions were delivered by a trained male–female paraprofessional team whose fidelity to the FIOC manualized curriculum was independently evaluated by a team of trained analysts. At both the point of intake (“PRE”) and again at an exit evaluation completed 3 months postpartum (“POST”), the mothers and fathers were videotaped as they completed two standardized “revealed differences” conflict discussions. Blinded videotapes of these sessions were evaluated using the System for Coding Interactions in Dyads. Analyses documented statistically significant improvements on 8 of 12 variables examined, with effect sizes ranging from moderate to large . Overall, 14 families demonstrated beneficial outcomes, 3 did not improve, and 3 showed some signs of decline from the point of intake. For most interaction processes, PRE to POST improvements were unrelated to degree of adherence the paraprofessional interventionists showed to the curriculum. However, better interventionist competence was related to decreases in partners' Coerciveness and Negativity and Conflict, and to smaller increases in partner Withdrawal. Implications of the work for development and delivery of community‐based coparenting interventions for unmarried parents are discussed.     

In these pages

The American Journal of Psychoanalysis -     

Developmental Tasks of Early Marriage: <Emphasis Type="Italic">Barefoot in the Park</Emphasis> (1967), <Emphasis Type="Italic">Raising Arizona</Emphasis> (1987), <Emphasis Type="Italic">The Quiet Man</Emphasis> (1952)

Using three Hollywood movies as a springboard, the authors offer a discussion of the psychosocial challenges faced by an individual entering a marital relationship. Keeping their attention on both intrapsychic and interpersonal factors, as well as the group matrix surrounding the couple, the authors discuss the subtleties of identity transformation, evolution of true mutuality, distance-related conflicts, and the deeper synthesis of affection and sensuality in the setting of early marriage. Their portrayal of this adult developmental phase is intended to help clinicians evolve greater empathy with newly married individuals.     

Integrating immigrant minorities: developing a scale to measure majority members' attitudes toward their own proactive efforts

The present study is based on the premise that the integration of ethnic minorities may involve more than the majority's expression of tolerance. In order to promote inclusion, the majority may have to play a more active role in the integration process. We describe the development and validation of a new psychometric scale which assesses majority members' attitudes toward their own proactive contribution to the integration of immigrants within three domains: cultural and structural efforts, and openness to diversity. The scale is investigated by analyses of internal structure and exploration of construct validity in relation to relevant social psychological and personality constructs in a sample of 486 Norwegian university students (28% male, mean age = 26.5, SD = 6.08). Factor analyses supported a unidimensional structure and the estimated reliability of an additive scale was satisfactory (Cronbach's α = 0.91). The scale correlated negatively with measures of right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation, and positively with global identity. It was weakly related to the personality traits agreeableness, intellect, extraversion, and conscientiousness. The potential utility of the scale in both applied and experimental social psychological studies are discussed.     

Confirmatory factor analysis and job burnout correlates of the Health Professions Stress Inventory

Previous research in 1994 by Gupchup and Wolfgang identified four factors from Wolfgang's Health Professions Stress Inventory (1988) that were common among a sample of practicing pharmacists. The factors were labeled Professional Recognition. Patient Care Responsibilities, Job Conflicts, and Professional Uncertainty, respectively. We used confirmatory factor analysis to assess whether this factor structure was generalizable to nurses. To examine concurrent validity, we correlated the factors with Maslach and Jackson's three dimensions of job burnout, i.e., Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization, and Personal Accomplishment. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey of a random sample of 9,380 nurses from across 43 public hospitals in Hong Kong, from which 2,267 (24.2%) responded. Analysis indicated statistically acceptable goodness of fit indices for the four-factor solution. Except for the factor Patient Care Responsibilities. all other factors had moderate correlations between .44 and .53 with Emotional Exhaustion and Depersonalization. Correlations between the factors of Stress Inventory and Personal Accomplishment were small but significant, ranging from -.25 to .13. Areas for further improving the psychometric properties of the inventory are discussed.     

Forgiveness: origins, dynamics, psychopathology, and technical relevance

This paper integrates a diverse and scattered literature to describe the psychodynamic underpinnings of granting and seeking forgiveness. The evolutionary foundations and the developmental substrate of these capacities are elucidated. An individual who fails to make certain intrapsychic achievements may be vulnerable to psychopathological development, as is evident in those who cannot forgive or forgive too readily, constantly or never seek others' forgiveness, cannot accept forgiveness, or show an imbalance between their capacities to forgive themselves and to forgive others. The relevance of various developmental and phenomenological concepts to psychoanalytic technique, including the patient's need to forgive and to be forgiven, is also discussed.